WILBYE, JOHN (1574-1638), English madrigal composer, was born at Diss, Norfolk, in 1574, the date of his baptism being March 9. Until recently nothing was known of his life but many facts have now come to light. His father was a well-to-do land owner, Matthew Wilbye. Through his early acquaintance with the Cornwallis family at Brome Hall John became resident musi cian at Hengrave Hall, the seat of Sir Thomas Kytson, whose wife was Elizabeth Cornwallis. The inventories of Hengrave give the items of furniture in Wilbye's rooms and the Hengrave Letter Book II. contains a letter from Wilbye to a friend, which has been reproduced in volume VI. of The English Madrigal School. In 1628 Lady Kytson died, and Wilbye retired to Colchester, where he lived in the house of Lady Rivers, a daughter of the Kytsons. This house was still standing in 1927. Wilbye died there in Sept. 1638, in his sixty-fifth year.
Wilbye's madrigals are the most famous of the English school. He had in a supreme degree the quality of style and he obtained wonderful effects of contrast by his skill in grouping the voices. His First Set of English Madrigals to 3, 4, 5, and 6 voices was published in 1598, bearing the date April 12, and was dedicated to Sir Charles Cavendish, son-in-law of Sir Thomas Kytson. It
contains 3o numbers, including the famous "Flora gave me fairest flowers." The madrigals of the Second Set, dedicated to Lady Arabella Stuart, which appeared in 1609, are even more finished in style. Among them are "Draw on, Sweet Night"; "Stay, Cory don"; and "Sweet honey-sucking bees." Both sets have been reprinted by the Musical Antiquarian Society, and for the English Madrigal School (vol. vi., with biographical details) and vii. Two Latin motets are in Arkwright's Old English Edition (1889-1902 ; 1922, etc.) ; Leighton's Teares or Lamentations (1614) contains 2 numbers by Wilbye, "I am quite tired" (a 4) and "0 God the Rock" (a 5). A six-part madrigal, "The Lady Oriana," is in the "Triumph of Oriana" (160i). Most of the English collections include one or more of Wilbye's madrigals. See also Rev. E. H. Fellowes, English Madrigal Composers (1921), and the article by him in Grove's Dictionary, 3rd ed.